Vilnius City Municipality Council (Lithuania) has signed an agreement with Italy's infrastructure provider Gemmo for the Vilnius street lighting renovation project.

In early April Gemmo S.p.A. was selected as the preferred bidder for the project. The firm was the only final bidder. France's Citelum and Austria's Strabag AG were the two other companies that initially bid for the project.

Mauro Gemmo, executive director of Gemmo S.p.A., stated:

Our company has implemented projects not only in Italy, but also in the United States, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates, Romania, and Argentina. We maintain lighting systems in more than 20 airports, 140 kilometres of tunnels, and 30 health care complexes. We work with 120 municipalities maintaining more than 350,000 street lights. We are pleased to be able to implement this important project in Vilnius

Jonas Kimontas, senior project manager at Invest Lithuania, stated:

Other municipal governments of major Lithuanian cities are already considering similar projects, with one planned in Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania. Approximately 150,000 street lights need to be upgraded in Lithuania, so I am sure that the partnership between Vilnius municipality and Gemmo S.p.A. will serve as an example of successful cooperation for other municipalities

The project cost is estimated at €31.3 million. The contract is for a period of 18 years plus 2 years to renovate the lighting network. The project will be developed on a design, build, finance, operate, and transfer (DBFOT) basis.

Economic LED lamps will replace the current sodium lamps across the city, over an installation period of two years. There are up to 44,000 lights in Vilnius, which were last upgraded in 1997-2000 and are reaching the end of their life.Vilnius aims to decrease the usage of electricity for street lighting by up to 50 per cent. Modernization of the system is expected to make the city more environmentally friendly and safer for residents and visitors.

Funding for projects in Lthuania can be provided from the European Energy Efficiency Fund, the Nordic Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Opportunities for support from European Union financial instruments are also planned in the period of 2014-2020.